The Other Scarlet
by BlockTheHatersSmile
Summary: She's been gone for a whole year but now she has returned. The Guardian of Fairy Tail has come back to stay. What does this mean for our lovable troublemakers of Fairy Tail? Anything can happen when you add another Scarlet to the mix. Warning: girlxgirl possible boyxboy. Creative criticism welcome, suggestions for story and future ones are appreciated. UP FOR ADOPTION and ON HOLD.
1. Chapter 1

Crystal's pov

As I walked towards my guild I couldn't help but to let my mind wonder. It's been awhile since I left for my S class mission. 1 year to be exact. The mission was to infiltrate a dark guild and destroy it from the inside out while freeing the enslaved civilians that they had kidnapped while on their rampage through countless villages and cities. Of course, with infiltrating I had to act as a total different person as well as have severely limited contact with my friends and family. However I had no say in the matter considering I had been specifically chosen for the mission by The Magic Council. Apparently they wanted one of the Scarlet Sisters to do it and considering I was the most reserved and stealthy one out of the two, I was chosen. You see my name is Crystal Scarlet, an S class mage and a Dragon Slayer.

While I walked through the streets towards home in my regular attire of a plain dark blue t shirt under a grey unzipped hoodie, with jeggings; people pointed at me and whispered and some even clapped me on the shoulder as they walked by me. I guess even though it's been a year since they last saw me they still recognized me. Although I kept my face expressionless and I didn't say anything back when they said welcome back, they understood that this is how I always am. I don't show much emotion since my sister and I escaped _that_ place. My hood was pulled up and covered most of my face in shadow while my mid back length hair was tucked in my hoodie with only a few of the scarlet pieces hanging out the hood.

'Man, this place hasn't changed a bit.' I thought. 'Mira and Cana are gonna flip when they see me back. They're gonna be so surprised. To bad big sis Erza ain't gonna be there.' Although my contact was limited to maybe contacting the guild through a lacrima once every two months for a couple minutes; I still kept myself posted on what the guild was up to. Right after I collected the 5 million jewel reward and reported to The Magic Council I caught wind that Erza had taken a mission that would take about two weeks to finish. She should be back any day now.

Being consumed by my thoughts I didn't realize that I was at my destination until I was at the front door. I looked up and saw the familiar symbol of my home on the giant wood building in front of me, Fairy Tail. With a sigh I opened the guild doors and ducked in order to dodge the incoming chair that was thrown my way.

'Ah, now this is more like it.' I thought with the ghost of a smile on my lips. There was an all out brawl going on with all the members. I look around and see that nobody's noticed me yet and thought that maybe I should see the master first and let him know I'm alright.

Channeling Wind Magic into my legs I launched myself into the rafters above me. Silently making my way to the other side of the room I observed those who were below me. I could see all of my friends. Seeing them in person and well was a relief and brought a feeling of content and joy. I was finally home and I wasn't planning on leaving it anytime soon. Coming to a stop once at the other side of the room I hopped down to the second floor and swiftly walked to Master Makarov's office. Last thing I wanted to do was run into Laxus. Once outside his door I knocked gently.

"Come in", an old voice called from the other side. With that I entered and turned to the master while taking off my hood.

"Hey Gramps", I said with a small grin on my usually aloof expression.

"Crystal", he breathed with a face of shock behind his desk. Then the shock changed to disbelief then he looked about ready to cry. "CRYSTAL", he yelled and launched his tiny body at me and wrapped his arms around my neck in a death hug. I could feel him sobbing.

"Yeah it's me. Don't cry old man, come on I'm home.", I said quietly while hugging him back.

After a few minutes he let go and looked me in the eye. "Crystal Scarlet, do you know how worried I was!?"

"I know, I know. But I promise I won't be going on another long term mission anytime soon."

He looked at the left side of my neck and saw that the dark guild mark, that I put on while going undercover, was gone. "I assume that your mission was a success.", he stated.

I nodded. "You think I can get back my guild mark?"

He nodded and pulled out the stamp and stamped the left side of my neck. After removing it you could see the symbol of Fairy Tail in amethyst purple. Gramps then took a hold of my arm to get my attention. I looked down and he motioned with his head towards the door. Instantly understanding, I walked out with him. I stopped so that he could go ahead of me and watched as he hopped on the bar counter and took a seat. I shook my head. 'Of course he'd want to see their reactions'.

I walked down to the bar while Mirajane had her back turned cleaning cups and Cana was distracted with chugging down her barrel of booze. Once I got there I sat on a stool and waited to see how long it took them to notice. Of course when I left Gramps' office my expression went back to emotionless and I was no longer smiling but on the inside I was still happy to be home. Minutes past and neither one of the girls noticed me and I became impatient. I could hear gramps snickering at their ignorance and decided to help them out.

"Wow, you guys are getting rusty.", at the sound of my voice both girls froze. "I mean come on what does it take to get noticed around here?" Mira put down the cup she was cleaning and Cana lowered her barrel with a shocked expression. Then both turned to me at the same time and instantly threw themselves at me and gave me a bone crushing hug.

"Crystal", they yelled in excitement. At the sound of my name everybody else in the guild stopped and looked at us. They had yet to release me and I patted their backs in an attempt to calm them down as silent sobs racked their bodies. When they finally let go I could see the looks of surprise and happiness in their eyes.

"Welcome home", Mira cheered. And just like that I was surrounded by the guild members with many "welcome back"s and "good to see ya"s. As the rest of the day went on I caught up with my friends and enjoyed the celebration.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day I sat at the bar with a strawberry milkshake. I was talking to Mira about my mission when I hear the doors slam open and turn around to see none other than Natsu Dragneel. The pink haired, pyromaniac Fire Dragon Slayer who had been absent on the day of my return because he went to go follow up a lead on someone called "The Salamander" in hopes that it was his dragon, Igneel. With him was some blonde chick as well as Happy, the flying blue cat. I turned back around and said bye to Mirajane as she went back to work serving drinks. In the end I spaced out, but from what I heard gramps broke up the fight that Natsu had started, gave a speech, and the blonde had joined Fairy Tail. All of the sudden a hand slams down in front of me bringing me back to reality. I look up to see the pyro himself with a toothy grin on his face.

"Fight me!", he demanded.

"Natsu," Cana started. "Leave Crystal be. She just got back from a S class job."

"I don't care! Fight me! Unless you're scared!"

Sighing I stood up. "Fine flame brain."

"What you call me!?" With that he lit his hand on fire and swung at me. I easily ducked under his fist and drove my elbow into his stomach making him stumble back. Before he could recover I grabbed his face with both hands and brought it down on my knee, knocking him out.

"I win", I stated boredly.

Time Skip

I was sitting at the bar with Cana as she surprisingly drank from a cup full of beer rather than her usual barrel. It has been a couple days since I came back and so far nothing's been going on except that Natsu and that girl Lucy brought back Macao.

"So you're telling me that they didn't even recognize you when you went under the radar?", Cana asked with disbelief and a little bit of admiration.

I rub the back of my head sheepishly as I reply, "Well there was a couple of close calls but I mainly kept my hood up or wore a cloak to hide my face. It's no big deal."

"No big deal! You single handedly took down an entire dark guild and saved dozens of lives!"

"Come on. They weren't even that tough."

"You're too modest and humble for your own good," she deadpanned. I felt a little heat rise to my cheeks at that. I felt like I didn't deserve this kind of praise. I was only doing what was right.

Turning to look at Cana more directly to retort I was distracted by her violet eyes. She was saying something but I couldn't hear her as I was dragged into my thoughts.

'Wow she's so pretty. Not to mention determined. Her lips look so soft and kissable. NO!', I scolded myself. 'You can't think of Cana like that. She isn't into girls... Right? I'm so hopeless!' You see I've had a crush on Cana for years now, however I've been hiding and suppressing them for fear of rejection, whether it be by her or Fairy Tail for being gay. I was partially hoping that these feelings would have gone away seeing that I've been gone for a year, but no such luck. Erza is the only one who knew ever since she caught me staring at Cana with a blush and dreamy eyes. 'People just don't know how to appreciate Cana. Sure she's a drunk but she has her reasons. After all her own father Gildarts doesn't even know that he's a father. But they don't see how strong, smart, brave and determined she is.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by a slightly concerned Cana, " Are you ok? You weren't responding and you had this far away look on your face."

"Yeah just tired is all."

Before she could grill me anymore, the blonde who came here with Natsu sat next to me and smiled. "Hi I'm Lucy. I don't think we've formally met." She held out a hand.

I shook it with a slight grin. "Crystal Scarlet."

"I knew you looked familiar!", she exclaimed in awe. "Your one of the Scarlet Sisters, Crystal Scarlet also known as the 'Fairy Guardian'! Nobody knows what magic you use sense you use so many types and you rarely come up in Sorcerer Weekly because you hate publicity."

"Yep that's me."

"Wow."

After talking a little bit more she asked the question that I just knew she had to ask. "If you don't mind me asking, what magic do you really use? I mean every time someone who's seen you use it and tries to describe it, it's always different. One person will say you use Fire Magic, another says you use Water Magic."

"It's fine I don't mind answering. Well in a nutshell I use almost every single kind of magic that has to do with an element. I also use Sound Magic but mainly Music Magic. The reason being is that I'm an Elemental and Music Dragon Slayer. And before you ask how this is possible, I was raised by two dragons when I was young, my father dragon of music, Apollo and my mother dragon of elements, Chaos. They raised me after finding me nearly dead on the shore of a beach after being separated from my sister Erza and disappeared the same day Natsu's dragon Igneel did."

She looked at me with wide eyes that held awe and envy. I could tell I had answered all her questions before she even got to ask them. At that I clapped her on the shoulder, "I know it may seem a little late to say this but, welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy and more importantly welcome to the family.", I said while looking her in the eye with nothing but warmth and kindness. Next thing I knew was she gave me a big smile before being dragged off by Natsu. Something about picking a job. I turned back to find Mira smiling at me.

Mira looked at me and said with her usual smile, "You haven't changed one bit you know. Still looking out for the guild, living up to that name, eh Guardian?" She finished with a giggle and turned back to taking orders. I chuckled I had one of those rare grins on my face and went back to looking at the guild with concealed amusement. Not long after that however, Loke came in with a terrified look on his face and yelled, "She's back! Erza's back!" At this everyone panicked accept for me and Mira.

It was only a minute after when the doors opened to reveal Erza the Titania herself with a giant horn thrown over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. At this I smirked and pulled my hood over my face. Looking back I saw Cana and Mira watching me with knowing smirks on their faces. I quickly focused some wind magic in my legs and used it to silently propel myself into the rafters like I did when I first came back. As Erza talked a bit I quickly but silently jumped from support beam to support beam til I was right above her then I heard her say she's heard about the trouble the guild's been causing. She went from Vijeeter to Macao. When she reached Cana and told her to stop drinking in an unladylike manner I got irritated and decided it was time.

I jumped down from my hiding place after crafting a red crystal sword using my magic. I landed lightly behind Erza. Seeing that she hadn't sensed me yet I leaned ever so slightly towards her ear only now realizing how quiet everyone had gotten and how they were watching me. When my mouth was by her ear I whispered/sang, "Now someone's losing their touch."

 **So? What do you Guys think? I'm new so keep that in mind. Comment/review and tell me what you think and for any suggestions/tips! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Takes place after Lullaby Arc and Galuna Arc. She didn't participate in them.**

It's been a couple weeks since the Galuna Island situation. Throughout that time I've been going on as many missions as I could with all the members of Fairy Tail, trying to make up for lost time. However, for most of those missions I was with Erza and/or Cana. Erza because she's my sister who I haven't legitimately seen or talked to in a year and Cana..well. My crush has been getting worse, pretty much every conversation ends up with me blushing and slightly stammering, I can't help but stare at her but quickly turn my gaze away when she turns towards me, and I've been noticing some unusual behavior on her part. When I compliment her I can just barely make out a slight blush and she always seems to be staring at me like how I do with her, only less frequently. Then there's the fact that we spend so much time together, it's like I'm drawn to her.

I sighed trying to clear these thoughts of a certain drunk brunette from my head. I was just coming into town after a job. I went solo to try and clear my head but obviously that didn't work.

It was around 11:30 pm and the guild was most likely empty, except for Mira who I sent a message to tell her I'd be coming back late. She told me she'd wait up at the guild and I'd promised to help close up sense she didn't leave til 12 in order to make sure everybody had left or returned from missions. For some reason I had a bad feeling about tonight.

The city was silent with the slightest breeze going down the street, blowing away from me. Usually there'd still be people rushing home from a long day at work or stumbling home from a bar or pub. But it was like a ghost town. I could feel tension in the air and it made me put my guard up, it's as if the city itself felt something evil in the air. My pace quickened as I felt the need to get to the guild, 'Something bad is gonna happen, I feel it in my bones. I just hope I'm being paranoid.' Although it's not like I'd be much help. I was low on magic and energy from my S class mission. I had to protect a town and its people from two monsters that easily surpassed 10 feet in height. If I had only needed to defeat the monsters I'd still be able to put up a fairly decent fight against Erza but, I also had to use a majority of my magic to protect the town by using defensive magic. To top it all off both monsters were like fighting Erza and Laxus at the same time which made me use more powerful spells than I usually do. In other words I was completely wiped and probably couldn't even put up a fight against Wakaba or Macao.

Then I smelt it, the wind had changed direction and I smelt the distinct smell of a dragon but it was mixed with the smell of a human. 'It isn't Natsu, I know his scent by heart.' Then I smelt something else, metal. I looked in the direction where it was coming from and came to a realization. The smell of a Dragon Slayer mixed with metal, I can't recognize the person, the sense of danger, tension in the air, my senses going into overdrive and the smell is coming from the one place I hoped it wouldn't. "Fairy Tail…", I breathed as I broke into a run despite my body's protest to take it easy. 'If I keep up this pace I should reach the guild before the mystery person does. Their scent came from near the guild, but not quite there yet.'

I reached the guild and caught my breath, winded from sprinting nearly half way through Magnolia. Once gaining my breath I stretched my senses and noticed that the presence from earlier was still some ways away. I sighed with relief before straightening my poster and putting a serious face on. Even if they didn't attack the guild then it was better safe than sorry although with the ill intent they were giving off as well as the atmosphere made me severely doubt they were here to join or talk. 'I'll have to make sure everybody gets out before they come. Though I'll do it calmly so I don't worry them.'

When I opened the door I looked and sniffed out everybody there. It was now 11:50 pm and the only people in the guild hall was Mira and Cana. 'This is good less people to worry about.'

"Welcome back Crystal! How was the mission?", Mira asked with a cheery smile while putting away the last cup she was cleaning.

"Sup Crys!", Cana said with her trademark grin. However neither the smile or grin lasted long once they saw my serious expression, my fiery eyes and the way I was slightly hunched over signalling my exhaustion. "What's wrong?"

Finally moving I briskly walked towards them, "You have to go", as I said this I had an edge in my voice with an almost unnoticeable hint of tiredness. Then I sensed it, that presence was close, maybe just a few minutes away, 'Man! They move faster than I anticipated… Wait! There's more than one now!? Someone must have masked most of their presence. However all except the original person are at most 15 minutes away.'

"Why?", Mira looked at me in confusion. "What's wrong Crystal is everything ok?"

The presence was getting closer. "There's no time to explain!" I said in a rush. "Someone or more like some people are heading for the guild and they all have a threatening aura. I need you two to hide. Go down the trapdoor into the basement and stay there."

"What no way are we leaving you to fight alone!", Cana shouted. " Look at you, you're exhausted, you can't fight like this! And this makes no sense, why would they attack the guild!?"

By the time she stopped her rant I had gotten behind the counter and opened the trapdoor while turning to Mira. "Go in and stay down there til it's safe." Mira knew that I had something like a sixth sense when there's danger. She nodded but not without giving me a look saying 'If you die I'll kill you a second time'. I nodded back and saw that she was safely down. Cana kept trying to argue with me about staying and fighting but I ignored her as I smelt two more people in the infirmary. I rushed in and gently carried a wounded Bisca who must have gotten hurt on the job. I shook Alzack awake from his chair beside the bed Bisca was in and told him to go in the basement while handing him Bisca. He must have seen how serious I am and heard the edge in my voice cause he just nodded and did as he was told.

I went back to Cana and kept insisting that she go in and hide when I felt that the person had arrived and I had run out of time. I quickly kicked the trapdoor shut and pulled Cana off the counter and onto the floor behind the bar. I put my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet and pressed her closer to me so we were chest to chest, trying to stop her movement. Even now in a dangerous situation I managed to blush at how close we were. A few seconds passed then the sound of metal hitting wood could be heard as the guild doors were smashed in.

I looked at Cana to see that her eyes were looking at me, I could see shock on her face probably because I looked slightly panicked. A silent message passed between us and I released her. After that I pointed at the trapdoor while still laying on the ground. "I need you to go in there and guard everyone. Hide Bisca among the damp crates so they can help mask her scent with the smell of old wood. There's a Dragon Slayer here and I don't want to risk anyone. I'll keep him busy so they won't find you." I whispered to Cana. She looked in my eyes and I could see the turmoil in her eyes. 'I know she doesn't want to leave me alone. But I can't risk her, she's to precious to me.' Finally she nodded and before she got up I launched myself over the bar so the intruder wouldn't notice Cana and be focused on me.

Turns out while I was back there the person had started rampaging and destroying the guild. Metal pillars were stuck in walls in various ways and furniture was smashed everywhere. The people who had followed the man had also gotten here and were joining in the chaos. I analysed them before they saw me and was delighted to see that one of them had some explosive lacrima in a bag. Lacrima was one of the few things I could consume to restore my magic and energy like water, rock, wood, etc. By the time they started turning towards me I had already put all my energy into speeding to the person with the lacrima. I appeared in a flash and punched him in the face hearing a satisfying crunch as his nose broke and he fell unconscious. I stole two of his lacrima before dodging an incoming attack.

I put some distance between myself and the enemy. While doing so I ate one lacrima and started on the second. All of them were looking at me like I was crazy, using this to my advantage I attacked. "Crystal Dragon Roar!", I yelled as a swirl of small shards of purple crystal left my mouth and took down more than half the enemy. I took a head count and saw only five remained. Although one with long black hair, blood red eyes and metal piercings all over his face caught my attention. I could feel strong magic coming off him and if I had to guess, he was the Dragon Slayer I smelled. 'My bet is he's some sort of metal Dragon Slayer. Dang! Even after the little snack I still don't have enough energy to beat them all, especially him.'

The Slayer walked forward with a cocky smirk on his face. "Wanna dance?", he said in a rough voice. He turned to his comrades, "Stay out of this and continue the mission for Master Jose." 'Master Jose? Then that means they're from Phantom Lord!' I was cut out of my thoughts when he charged at me while turning his arm into an iron sword. The battle was on!


	4. AN thank you

**A/N**

Thank you guys so much for 41 views on my story! It means the world to me that there are people who'll actually read my writing let alone like it! You guys are the best and this story has done better than I could have hoped for! Thank you to ellebeangirl for being my first follower and the first to ever favorite my story, you're the bomb! Anyway while I'm glad it's being read please feel free to review/comment on the story. Tips and suggestions are welcomed on where the story could go or if I should add more ocs. Also the story chapters I have lined up are running out so my updates are gonna start taking longer. Tell me in the reviews, would you like me to update weekly where the chapters might be a bit rushed or shorter than usual due to me not having that much time, or as soon as I finish a chapter which might take a little more time? Also would you like me to explain all of Amber's spells? Again thank you guys so much for reading my first story! If you like original fiction check out my Quote account where I'll be positing my original work. You'll also find this story on there as well. BlockTheHatersSmile

-love BlockTheHatersSmile ? and remember the haters don't matter, all that matters is your smile! No matter what they say you're beautiful to me!


	5. Chapter 5

Me and the Slayer had been going at it for 15 minutes now. I was slightly breathing heavy while he was starting to sweat. He had the upper hand seeing as he's in better condition and the guild was completely wrecked. The entire time I was using Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic considering he uses Iron Dragon Slayer Magic, this has helped me even the playing field a bit since metal was a conductor of electricity. At the moment we both had bruises and scratches all over our bodies. We faced each other as he made his arm into an Iron Club and I made my red crystal katana pulse with red lightning. Then we charged at one another, entering into another battle filled with the sound of metal on crystal. Everytime he blocked my attacks he was shocked with my powerful red lightning that not only shocked but burned anyone in contact with it. Blow for blow, we went on until I landed a solid kick in his stomach after dodging him, sending him flying to the other end of the hall where he hit the wall.

"That's it! No more games!", he yelled in frustration. I knew what he was about to do as he took a large breath and followed his lead.

"Iron Dragon…"

"Lightning Dragon…"

"ROAR!", we yelled in unison as our attacks clashed making an explosion that hurt us both. I staggered to my feet feeling the effects of Magic Deficiency taking over. My body was at it's limits not to mention I was pretty banged up. However when I looked at my opponent I noticed that he looked tired as well but still had more magic. 'He must of thought that this was gonna be an easy fight. He wasn't prepared for this much retaliation.' I held out my fist and struggled to make lightning appear for my next attack. About to charge I stepped forward with my fist at my side and my sword in my other hand ready to strike, when I heard his comrades laughing and a voice yelling "Let me go!" I froze immediately and turned around already knowing who it was. Rage and guilt flared in my soul as I saw the person I was in love with, Cana, in the hands of the Phantom Lord scum. 'I should have paid attention to them! I got so caught up fighting the Dragon Slayer that I forgot about the other four! Luckily I don't see anybody else so they must be hiding.'

"Hey, Gajeel! Looky what we found", the man, holding a slightly bruised Cana, shouted.

"Gehe", snicker the man, now named Gajeel. I turned my head to look at him, while he moved to stand by his friends, he said, "Now girlie, don't want us hurtin your friend here do ya? Drop the sword and we let her go." I didn't dare move for fear they'd hurt her. Looking in her eyes, I could see Cana silently pleading me to not do it. To continue fighting but, I just couldn't. Getting out of my fighting stance I dropped my sword which disappeared when I de-spelled it, cancelled my previous spell and put my hands slightly up in surrender.

Sending them a dark glare I spoke through clenched teeth, "Now let her go." Gajeel looked at me in slight shock that I actually did it and curiousity shined in his eyes. 'Does he not know what it looks like when somebody sacrifices themselves for another? I wouldn't be surprised sense dark guilds aren't so much family as they are evil.' Looking at his friends after hardening his eyes he commanded, "You heard her boys, let her go."

My eyes widened in rage when I saw that the man holding her instead threw her with great force into a wall, leaving a dent. But no matter what, my body couldn't keep fighting. The men advanced on Cana, except Gajeel who looked at me and left. 'I don't care if I can't fight! I won't let her get hurt anymore!' Using what was left of my energy I sprinted towards Cana and did something like a baseball slide only I slid sideways so that when I came to a stop my body covered her's. I had just reached her before the four Phantom Lords. Looking at her eyes I could see that they were unfocused and she was losing consciousness. 'Probably from the impact.' My thoughts were cut off by one of many kicks and punches thrown at me and Cana. But I acted as a human shield and took the blows while biting my tongue til I drew blood. 'I refuse to give them the satisfaction of hearing me in pain.' As the beating continued I couldn't help but think that if I wasn't here, they would have done this to Cana. But she wouldn't be in this situation if I had paid closer attention. 'I wish Erza were here. To bad she went on a mission with Team Natsu or these guys would be begging for their lives.' I noticed that Cana had passed out. Trying to take my mind off the pain I shut my eyes and prayed she'd be ok.

The men finally stopped when I was at my breaking point. I had somehow managed to cover some of my back in obsidian scales to protect it. As the men left laughing, I stayed in my position covering Cana with my body, practically half on top of her, until I was sure they were gone. Even then I stayed there for another minute just incase they came back. After this I grunted in pain as I rolled on my back. Assessing myself, I could make out broken ribs, multiple bruises on my back, minor cuts, a sprained wrist and a slight concussion with a small gash on my forehead. I barely had any magic left. As I laid there spots danced in my vision as I was taken over with so much exhaustion I couldn't even raise a finger. My breath came in strained gasps as my broken ribs and many bruises made every breath hurt. Closing my eyes I laid there for a minute until I heard Cana stir.

Hearing a gasp and some scuffling, I assumed Cana saw me. I felt gentle, soft hands pick up my head and putting it on something. Slowly opening my eyes into slits I could make out an upside down Cana with a worried expression mixed with an emotion that I didn't recognize, quickly realizing she had put my head in her lap. Slowly and gently she stroked my cheek with unshed tears in her eyes. I could tell she was scared, I could see the reflection of my face in her eyes, I looked completely out of it, no longer was my face expressionless. Instead it was filled with pain and when she touched my face, I visibly relaxed without noticing it, as if her touch made some of the pain go away. Then I heard her cry out in a watery voice, "Mira! Help, Crystals hurt!" Feeling the ground vibrate I assumed Mira was on her way. Feeling the overwhelming need for sleep I slowly closed my eyes and blacked out to the sound of two voices calling my name.

Time Skip

With a groan I slowly opened up my eyes to see a wood ceiling. 'Where am I?' Taking a sniff and smelling old wood, dust and alcohol I realized I was in the basement in what must have been a makeshift infirmary. Stiffly turning my head to the right I saw a sleeping Cana in a chair with some bandages on her head. I then felt something warm in my hand and looked to see that she was holding my hand. If I wasn't so stiff and sore I would be blushing, although I couldn't help but think about how soft it was and how it fit almost perfectly in my slightly bigger hand. With another grunt I started pushing myself up, letting go of Cana's hand and accidentally waking her up. "Crystal", she said in relief. Looking at me she quickly helps me get up into a sitting position then gently hugs me.

"How long have I been out?", I asked in a tired voice while looking down at myself after she let go. My chest was wrapped up as well as my head, I had bandages covering my neck and forearms while there was a splint on my left wrist. I could feel the bandages hidden under the blanket that wrapped some of my left leg. I also still had on my clothes that were all torn up from the fight.

"Not long, a couple hours give or take." Cana said in a guilty tone. She turned her head to the side as she continued, "Only the early risers like Wakaba and Master are here. It's about 7 am." She looked back at me with unshed tears that broke my heart. "I'm sorry you had to protect me. I should have done something! But I let them get the better of me and now you're hurt!" Cana kept babbling while tears ran down her face. Deciding enough was enough I threw off the blankets, swung my legs off the bed to the side she was sitting and embraced her. At first she stiffened but then relaxed hugging back. Letting her cry in my shoulder I stroked her hair and rubbed her back while saying in a soothing voice, "Don't say that. You're stronger than you think and don't even think for a minute that this was your fault. I chose to protect you, I'm the one who used their self as a shield, and I should have paid attention to the lackeys more while fighting the stronger one." After I had said 'shield' Cana stopped crying and brought herself up looking at me in confusion.

"What do you mean 'shield'?" I explained to her what happened after she hit the wall and got into an argument with her, telling her it wasn't her fault. After I won, she gave me clothes and a cloak that would cover up my injuries that she got from my house. The cloak covers everything but allowed only my mouth to be I got dressed she led me to Gramps who I explained what happened to. Gramps decided that we wouldn't attack Phantom due to guild wars being illegal. Although I was slightly angered I could see that his decision was wise so that we wouldn't give the Council another reason to try and shut down Fairy Tail so, I put on my expressionless face and left him to his thoughts. I sat at a makeshift table and asked Mira to get me a bottle of Scotch and a cup of ice instead of a milkshake. She gave me a worried look before I told her I needed to loosen up a bit and the alcohol would help me numb some of the pain. Cana sat next to me as the Scotch arrived and gave me a look of understanding. I poured the drink in the cup filled with ice and took a long swig.

After some moments of silence guild members started showing up, demanding an explanation which Mira vaguely provided. Then Cana started a conversation, "You know once Erza sees you she's gonna be pissed."

With a groan I replied, "I know. She'll be pissed at me for being reckless and at Phantom Lord for attacking us. But I'm actually more concerned about Natsu. Now he's gonna go berserk."

She chuckled and watched me drink before replying, "Yep. Knowing him and how stupid he is he'll probably try and take on the whole of Phantom for revenge." For the first time since I woke up I cracked a smile, even though it was a small one. Only Cana can cheer me up like that.

We continued our conversation until it was 9 am. I had finished the bottle of Scotch and had a slight buzz considering my high alcohol tolerance. When I saw the time I remembered that Erza said she'd be back around 9:30 in the morning. "Hey Mira!", I called while standing up. The buzz I had made it so I was less sore, that and the fact I had eaten some of the wood from the destroyed furniture and sucked on some ice cubes to get water. These both gave me enough strength to cast a spell that would significantly decrease my healing time.

"Yeah?", she responded with slight worry since I was still hurt. I walked towards her and set the empty bottle and glass on a crate nearby.

"Team Natsu should be back soon. I think you should go up there to greet them. Tell them that we were attacked so they don't go berserk when they see the damage. But don't tell them that I got hurt! Please."

"Okay. But Erza's gonna find out sooner or later. Plus she has a right to know, as an older sister myself, I know that I would be upset for not knowing if my younger sibling was hurt."

I sighed and rested my head in my palm as I leaned on the crate to take pressure off my hurt leg. "I know, I know. I just don't want her blowing up in public. I'd rather have her do it down here where there isn't any prying eyes."

After Mira promised and went up stairs I walked over to Bisca and Alzack to see how they were doing. They thanked me for protecting them but I just brushed it off saying that's what family's for.

"So Bisca," I started. "How'd you end up in the infirmary?"

"Oh," Bisca replied rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "We were on our way back to the guild when we got ambushed by some bandits. They sort of caught me off guard."

"So, do I need to bash some heads together or what," I said with a slight edge in my tone angered that someone hurt my friend.

With a sweat drop she hurriedly replied, "No! You see Alzack took care of them and brought me back to get patched up. He saved me."

I looked at him as the corners of my mouth twitched up slightly. The entire guild knew that he was crazy about Bisca. He just needed to gather up the guts to ask her out. Then again I can't really talk considering I haven't even hinted to Cana about my feelings that much. I left them and leaned against the base of the stairs that connect the basement to above ground. With my enhanced hearing I concentrated on the voices outside and blocked out the ones around me.

"Phantom?", I heard a voice, Erza's, ask.

"Yes", I hear Mira reply. "Some Phantom Lord members came in late at night and started destroying the place. However when they attacked the guild was mostly empty." I could tell she wanted to say more but she cut herself off. Maybe she wanted to say that there weren't many injuries but that would only make them angrier than they already are knowing people got hurt, even if it was only a little. Plus she already said enough for Erza to catch on by saying the guild was 'mostly empty'.

As expected, Erza said, "You said the guild was 'mostly empty'. Were you there? Are you hurt? Is everybody ok?" I could hear the concern in her voice. I sighed, 'Mira always knows how to get around a promise. She didn't say it was me who got hurt but she definitely pointed Erza in the right direction saying there was people who were there. Me being the younger sister, Erza will most likely check me for injuries at some point then she's gonna blow a fuse.'

I decided to stop listening knowing that there was nothing left to listen to. It was only a matter of time til they rush down here. I pushed myself off the wall with a small cringe as my buzz had went away and I felt some soreness that hadn't gone away yet. Quickly scanning the room to see if anyone noticed I caught Cana looking at me with concern, when she saw me looking back I half-smiled to let her know I was fine. But oddly enough she blushed and looked away which confused me. Shrugging it off I walked over to a crate and popped the lid off. Inside were beer bottles all stacked up on their sides. I took one and opened it using the edge of the box. Walking to an empty table I took a drink. The last thing I need is to bring people into Erza's outburst, if she had one, which there's a 50/50 chance she will.

Not long after sitting down with my beer I could hear feet on wood, signalling the team's arrival. I zoned out on the talk they had with Gramps but came back into focus when I saw Erza scanning through the guild members looking for someone. It was quite considering everyone decided to listen in on the conversation. They all knew I was hurt since Mira vaguely explained last night's events, they just didn't know the extent of it. All they saw was the bandage on my right forearm sense it stuck out of my cloak to hold my drink. Knowing how they are they probably think my arm was the only thing that's hurt and that I had taken an easy job. They probably thought that I had enough energy to take care of the intruders and got the injury from recklessness.

Deciding to make it easier for Erza and get it over with I raised my half empty bottle in the air so she could see me. "Yo."

Erza's pov

"Yo", I heard a familiar voice say and looked to see the cloaked figure of my sister holding up a bottle with a bandaged arm. I started walking to her and started analyzing her. 'Something's wrong, Crystal only wears cloaks when she's hiding something or wants to be left alone, she never drinks unless she's in a fowl mood or her anxiety is up, and the way she didn't speak up right away when I got here only adds to it.' I was nearly at her table and the guild was in silence, Crystal watched me. Thoughts were forming in seconds in my head, 'Mira said that there were a few injuries and that there were some people here during the attack. Judging by the time of the attack, Crystal would have gotten there before or during it. Bandages,cloak,timing and drinking.' Coming to a conclusion I had concern written on my face as my sisterly instincts kicked in. I finally reached the table.

"Crystal", Erza said demandingly. I know my sister could be stubborn. "Take off your cloak, please."

She let out a sigh as she stood up after putting her now empty bottle down. As the cloak fell to the floor I looked in shock at my little sister while taking in her appearance along with the rest of the guild. Her head was wrapped in bandages as well as her forearms, left calf, her torso and a splint on her left wrist. She wore a white tank top and some shorts. Despite her expressionless face, I could see she was tired and there were bruises visible on the parts of her body not covered in bandages. Only now did I feel how weak her magical aura was, everybody else probably felt it to.

After recovering I stepped forward, "Wha-What happened?"

She sighed and explained last night's events in more detail. Also she explained why she was so low on magic. After hearing her out I was boiling in anger. However seeing Crystal in such a state made me put on a calm front. Most likely she was expecting me to be mad that she got hurt but, I was actually proud. She protected our family to the best of her ability. I also felt bad that she had to watch the person she loved get hurt.

Breaking myself from my thoughts I walked over to her and gently hugged her. I could feel her stiffen as this wasn't what she was expecting. Then she hugged back. After a few seconds I released her and looked her in the eye, "I'm proud of you. You may have not been able to protect the guildhall itself but you protected our family with everything you had and then some. Go home and rest you'll need it to get better. I'll stop by later with some energy lacrima to help you recharge." Crystal looked even more shocked than before, after a moment she regained her composure. She nodded and when she was about to start leaving we heard applause. Looking behind me we saw the guild shouting their approval and agreeing to what I said. Looking back at Crystal she gave us all one of those rare smiles before putting her cloak back on and leaving with a wave thrown over her shoulder.

 **So yeah extra long post today. I'm gonna be really busy for a little while so I'll be taking a bit longer to post. I might find somebody to write in my place temporarily. A possible future co author to my profile. If that happens I'll be posting another super long chapter so that the writer won't interfere with the content I already have written. Anyway thanks for reading the story! Leave a review and have a happy Halloween! Until next time, keep smiling and block the haters! 3**


	6. Chapter 6

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;" /p  
div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /div  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" True to her word, Erza did stop by with some energy lacrima. When she did, Crystal was already dead asleep and she ended up leaving them on the kitchen counter so she didn't wake her up. By the time Crystal woke up it was already night time. Crystal was about to finish the last lacrima while staring out an open window when she froze. Something wasn't right, she had that feeling in her bones again. Getting up and walking onto the balcony of the second level of her two story house, she could feel tension in the air. After finishing the lacrima, Crystal felt that most of her injuries were healed from that spell she casted to speed up the healing process. However, her magic energy wasn't fairly high, give or take 10%, cause she's been using healing spells to try and get in better shape just in case. Scanning through the dark street in front of her home she didn't see anything./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" At first she was gonna shrug it off, blame it on paranoia and go back inside. Then the wind changed and a scent reached her nose, one that Crystal wouldn't forget. What was worse is that she smelt three other familiar ones as well, in fact they were slightly mingled together. This was cause they all came from the same direction. Stretching out her hearing to it's limits, Crystal heard the faraway sound of heavy footsteps as well as three other lighter sets of footsteps. This led Crystal to the conclusion that there wasn't any fighting yet and that her Nakama (family) was in trouble!/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Not even bothering to change out of her black hoodie and sweatpants, Crystal quickly went inside and grabbed a pair of black Nike Orive running shoes before launching herself off the balcony. Running through the streets as fast as possible Crystal could only hope she got there in time. 'This isn't good, I have less magic than last night and my injuries haven't properly healed yet. This time I'm not gonna get so lucky and find some lacrima. There's no telling what's gonna happen but, one things for sure, they have to go through me to get to them.'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Finally reaching her destination, Crystal saw a scene that made her blood boil. There was none other than Gajeel standing over an unconscious Droy while staring at an injured Levy and Jet. Team Shadow Gear was in rough shape. Gajeel made his arm into an iron club and was about to strike Jet when Crystal tackled Gajeel to the ground. Once they hit the ground Crystal quickly rolled so that she was on her feet facing Gajeel, who was still on the ground. Thinking fast Crystal shouted, "Tree Root Lock!" as a pale green magic circle appeared under Gajeel. Giant thick roots sprung from the ground and wrapped around Gajeel's body until he was struggling to try and get up. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Crystal ran over to Team Shadow Gear with an expression of anger,frustration and concern instead of one of indifference and said, "You guys need to get out of here!" Looking at their conditions she saw that Jet was the only one really able to stand. Turning to Jet, "Pick up Droy and take him to my place, when you're done with that comeback for Levy. Stay there, you'll be safe and I'll keep this guy busy."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Levy looked at her like she was crazy, "No way are we leaving you here in your condition! Nakama don't abandon one another."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Look, your all hurt and if you don't go I can't protect you. Right now this is the best option, either all four of us fall or one of us falls. I'm not gonna let you guys go down with me." Turning to Jet, he and Crystal shared a silent message, nodding Jet picked up Droy and used his Speed Magic to take off in the direction of Crystal's home. The sound of ripping caused Crystal to turn around to see Gajeel ripping apart the tree roots and finally up on his feet. The two stared at each other waiting for the other to make the first move. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Nevering breaking eye contact Crystal told Levy, "Go and hide, find someplace safe til Jet gets here."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "No! I won't leave you!" It sounded like she was tearing up./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Levy!Go!" Levy just shook her head as she watched one of her best friends trying to protect her. She couldn't move, she was hurt and scared. Scared of the man in front of her, of what would happen to Crystal, someone she viewed as a big sister./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Seeing that Levy was unable to move, Crystal decided that she'd have to fight and protect her at the same time. Both fighters stood still, waiting for the battle to begin. Finally growing impatient, Gajeel smirked and turned his arm into an iron sword, "Iron Dragon's Sword!" Following his lead Crystal created a black sword and shield, "Obsidian Artillery!" At the same time they charged, Crystal ducked Gajeel's sword when he swung and got into his guard. She pulled back her left arm and hit him in the face using the edge of her shield. Staggering back, with blood coming out of his nose, Gajeel growled and started swinging his blade. It went on like this for a couple minutes, swing, slash, dodge, block. That's all they did until they both jumped back a couple yards to assess the damage they took/did. Both had landed a couple hits causing some bruises and scratches./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" They both got rid of their swords. Deciding to take the first move Crystal charged forward so fast that Gajeel was caught off guard, "Lightning Dragon Wing Attack!" As the attack came down Gajeel changed his arm into a club, "Iron Dragon's Club!" While Crystal's attack hit him and sent him skidding back, the club hit her in the stomach sending her back into a building. Prying herself from a wall, Crystal looked to see Gajeel smirking, despite the damage done. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Again they both attacked each other, again and again until both were panting. They were hurt but Crystal most of all considering that she hadn't recovered from yesterday's fight. She allowed herself a quick glance at Levy, 'If I'm right this fight's been going on for about 20 minutes. What's taking Jet so long?! His injuries are probably making him slower, that and he may have forgotten which one's my house since he hasn't been over in such a long time. He needs to hurry I can't fight like this for much longer! Not to mention Levy is still in danger.' Seeing the form of her friend shaking in sobs as she watched Crystal fight only made her more unfocused from the heartache it caused but that soon changed to anger. Turning back Crystal felt like she had even more magic than before as rage burned in her eyes./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Summoning some headphones, that played music but still let her hear everything around her, Crystal decided it was time to use her Music Magic. The headphones not only played music but if she focused, it only allowed her opponent to take damage from any sound attacks she used, making sure there was nobody caught in the crossfire. With a breath she yelled, "Screech of the Harpy!" a loud, high pitched scream came from her mouth and caused Gajeel to cry out in pain. His enhanced hearing making it 10x worse and leaving his ears ringing. Summoning a bass, Crystal played for a few seconds (Beginning: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day) the sound turning physical. It punched Gajeel so hard he was sent flying into a wall that collapsed on top of him. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" The pile shifted until his battered form came out with a look of fury. Dispelling the bass Crystal got ready for the 3rd round. "Iron Dragon…." "Crystal Dragon…" "ROAR!" the attacks clashed for a few moments before exploding. Through the smoke came an iron club that Crystal gracefully jumped onto and ran down. This time it was Gajeel who saw something come out of the smoke as she ran to the end of his cub in seconds. He tried punching her when she was close but she jumped off the club and landed to his left. There she grabbed onto the iron club, "Electric Discharge!" red lightning coursed through her arms into Gajeel who screamed in agony before being silenced by Crystal punching him in the face with an ice covered fist, "Ice Dragon Iron Fist!" She tried to put distance between them but to her surprise he turned his leg into an iron pillar and kicked her with such force she went through a light pole and broke a wall. While she was slouched against the remains of the wall after standing up, he appeared behind her, "Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" She was sent flying to the opposite side of the street, going through a glass window and hitting random objects./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Crystal! No!", screamed Levy. That scream is what made Crystal stagger to her feet. As she powered through the pain and ran through the broken window she summoned a flute. Once outside she played, (Kinda like the cowboy quickdraw) the magic in the music caused Gajeel to become disoriented and his vision became fuzzy. "Music Dragon Roar!" a beam of bright light that changed colors shot out of her mouth as the sound of dubstep filled the air. Hitting Gajeel directly he was sent back and hit the ground tumbling and sliding. Both the headphones and and flute disappeared, Crystal was out of energy and was in great pain. She could feel a couple broken ribs and many bruises and scratches throughout her body. 'Where are you Jet? Maybe he went to get help or maybe he ran into one of the guild members? Looking back on it, it looked like one of his legs were hurt and he looked completely wiped.' Gajeel had made it to his feet and smirked./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "You know", he started. "You're pretty in the condition you were in before I wasn't expecting such a fight. And I know you weren't able to go all out last time either. However, I didn't come here to have fun. Master Jose said he wanted the mission done fast and that's exactly what I'm gonna do." In an instant he was in front of Levy with his hands cupped over his mouth. "Iron Dragon's…." Realizing what was about to happen, Crystals eyes widened before she charged electricity in her legs and disappeared in a flash of red. "ROAR!" The attack was fired no more than two yards from it's target when the attack hit. As the smoke cleared both his and Levy's eyes widened at what was in front of them. At that moment Jet arrived breathing heavily, he had run into Nab and told him to put the town on high alert for threats after finding Crystal's house and leaving Droy. He couldn't have predicted that this was what he'd come back to. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
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p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Time Skip /span/p  
div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /div  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Team Natsu were pushing through a crowd of people, trying to reach the front. It was the morning and they had heard whispers from civilians about something happening in the park as well as the Master being there. Once the crowd saw them they cleared a path showing that most of the guild was in the front, looking at the great tree. Once setting eyes on it they were shocked at the horrendous sight. There hanging by their hands that were chained to the tree trunk was a battered and broken Crystal 'Guardian' Scarlet. Erza froze as she took in the sight, one that she was sure would haunt her dreams. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Crystal was hanging with her hands strung out with a chain. Head hanging low, bruises covered her body with blood and scratches. There was blood slowly dripping down the tree from her back, leaving lines of the red liquid on the trunk. The worst part though, was what was on her stomach. With her hoodie and shirt ripped clearly exposing her abdomen, there was the guild mark of Phantom Lord. Sobs could be heard from everyone, the worst being Cana, at least for Erza it was. With her head tilted down and eyes covered by shadows Erza couldn't help but feel how much of a failure she was. 'I'm supposed to protect her! How could I have let this happen?! I should have stayed the night with her and not at Lucy's. Then maybe Crystal wouldn't have had to go through so much pain and the person she loves wouldn't have to see her in such a state.'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" A scream cut Erza out of her thoughts. "Get her down from there!", it was Cana who shouted. Tears cascaded down her face as she saw Crystal dangle there like some sort of hunting trophy! Ever since Crystal returned, Cana realized what it is that girl meant to her. Cana was in love, with none other than Fairy Tail's resident Guardian Angel. Seeing her like this just broke Cana's heart. Crystal had always saw her for who she really was and not just some alcoholic. She was somebody that Cana could share secrets with and depend on to be there. She had broke down the drinkers walls to find a scared, lost and frustrated girl. One whose heart was broken and filled with gaps left by her dead mother, ignorant father and a pained past. Crystal had helped mend her heart then helped protect it. Whenever the musician saw Cana upset she did anything to bring out that smile again. If somebody had hurt her the dragon slayer wouldn't waste a second to return the favor and make it so that nobody messed with her again. What's more is that Crystal showed that she had total faith in the fortuneteller. She told her about her past, dragons and fears. Not only that she always showed the side of her that nobody else saw when the two were together. One that wasn't afraid of showing emotion, of cracking a smile or just acting plain normal. She trusted that Cana wouldn't hurt her like so many have, she knew that she'd be there no matter what. It was that trust, that loyalty and kindness that made Cana ultimately fall in love with the younger half of the Scarlet Sisters./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Eagerly complying to the card mage's request, Erza whipped out her sword and sliced threw her sisters chains. As she fell Cana dashed forward and caught her. Gently bringing both of them down so that Cana was on her knees while holding Crystal in a semi sitting position. Erza and Mirajane rushed forward to their side. After confirming that Crystal was indeed breathing, Erza turned to the Master with barely controlled rage, "What should we do? And why go after Crystal? Last I checked she was at her house but as we passed it there was no signs of a break in."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" The Master looked into her eyes, "That is because Crystal wasn't their original target."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "What?!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "It was us", coming through the crowd was Team Shadow Gear, bandaged and healed after going to the hospital. Levy looked from Erza to Crystal's pained expression as Mira and Cana did their best to try and temporarily patch her up. "They came after us but Crystal came out of nowhere and saved us."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Explain", Erza demanded while shaking in fury. She had to know what happened that would cause her sister to be in such a state./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" With a look of guilt and sadness Levy recalled what had happened. "You see, us three had been walking home last night. It was late so Droy and Jet decided that it'd be safer if they walked me back to Fairy Hills. On our way we were ambushed by a guy with long, spiky black hair, beady red eyes and metal piercings all over his face. If I'm right then it was Phantom Lords Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox. We ended up fighting him but in the end he knocked out Droy and was about to finish us. But, Crystal came out of nowhere and tackled him, cancelling his attack. After immobilizing him, she told Jet to take Droy to her house and ended up protecting me and taking Gajeel on at the same time. In her state she put up a great fight but it wasn't enough. Instead of engaging Crystal again, Gajeel tried using his roar on me at point blank but…" At this point she was choking up and her tears trailed down her face. Looking down she tried to continue, "After the attack hit Jet showed up and when the smoke cleared-" A sob escaped Levy's lips as she couldn't go on. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Taking over Jet picked up where she left off. "When the smoke cleared it showed that the attack didn't even hit Levy. Instead it hit Crystal who used her body as a shield and took the hit. Crystal kept trying to get us to leave her but we kept refusing. In the end she used the last of her magic to cast 'Siren's Melody' on me. I couldn't control myself anymore and my body only listened to what I was instructed. Using her magic, Crystal forced me to take Levy and run while also forbidding me from returning. Once I got Levy to where Droy was I found Master and told him what happened." He finished with tears as he looked at Erza who trembled in raw fury./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Master Makarov gained everyone's attention as he smashed his walking stick and yelled, "You can attack my guildhall but spilling the blood of one of my children is unforgivable! Fairy Tail is going to war!"/span/p  
div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /div  
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div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /div  
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div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /div  
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p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Time Skip (Team Shadow Gear and Mira stayed behind at the guild to take care of Crystal while everyone else went to get revenge. This is when Fairy Tail is rushing outside to see the Phantom Guild) Crystal pov/span/p  
div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /div  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" I woke up to see that I was back at the guild. Nobody was there which was odd. Looking around I saw a water pitcher, wood chips in a bowl and a round explosive lacrima on a side table. Quickly eating and drinking I felt a slight tremble in the ground below me. As I stood up I was shocked at how much energy I had. 'They must have been constantly feeding me to get me up to 60%!' I also noticed that most of my injuries were healed. 'They must have took me to the hospital or got Porlyusica to patch me up.'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Breaking out of my musings I felt the ground tremble again. Stretching my hearing I could hear people running outside and I could feel a large concentration of Dark Magic. Acting fast I got out of bed and sprinted out of the basement and out the back of the guild using my lightning magic. What I saw made my blood run cold. Out in the distance was Phantom Lords guildhall on giant mechanical legs! All of the sudden it started shifting until a large cannon with a ball of magical energy forming on it was aimed at the guild. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Prepare to die by my Jupiter Cannon!" yelled a voice. Must be Jose./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Immediately my brain started working going at a million miles an hour. 'Judging by the magic that's giving off not even Erza's strongest armour could block that! And even if she could she'd surely be out of the fight. If that happens then we're all toast! From what I can tell Gramps isn't here and me and Erza are the only active S-class mages here! Not to mention I'm in no condition to fight.' I started thinking about any spells I could cast to defend against a spell of this magnitude. 'There's always that new spell I've been working on. But I haven't even finished creating it yet and I might not be able to hold it!' The cannon was almost charged./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Everybody get back!", I heard Erza yell as she ran to the front while requiping. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" 'No! Not even her Adamantine Armour could hold!' In that moment I made a decision and used my lightning to sprint in front of Erza. Catching her off guard I used my wind magic to blow her back. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Crystal! What are you doing?!" "Get back here!" "Get out of there!" I heard my guild mates scream./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Earth Magic: Quicksand!", I cast on them. Quicksand quickly captured everyone's feet so that nobody could get to me./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" I turned around just as I saw the cannon fire. Moving quickly I threw my hands in the air in front of me while three magic circles the size of the guild formed before me. A brown circle in front of a green one and yellow one, "Ultimate Defense Barrier: Earth,Forest,Sun!" A giant wall made of various rocks and crystals formed, behind that were thick magical trees that were as strong as iron and behind that was an almost translucent shield that was made of the sun's energy. This was my strongest defensive spell. I could combine 3 of my magic types to form a giant wall./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Jupiter was only seconds away from impact. As extra precaution I had my feet dig into the earth so that I could hold my ground. 'This is gonna hurt.'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "CRYSTAL", I heard voices cry as Jupiter hit my barrier./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" At first the earth wall held but then slowly cracks started appearing and it started falling apart. I used my remaining magic to strengthen the other barriers and try to hold the earth one together. Soon the blast destroyed my first wall and slammed into the second causing the brown magic circle to disappear. The force it hit with made me slide back slightly but I refused to give another inch. I pushed back with as much force as I could. At the moment my complete focus was protecting my Nakama, their cries and yells were background noise as I pushed my magic and my body over the limit. I gave a pained but determined shout as my second barrier went down and the green circle vanished. I saw the giant mass of magic push against my sun shield. It looked a little smaller than before but not by much. It's probably losing some magic to get through my barriers. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" By now sweat is pouring down my face as the force of the magic is pushing at me. It's like trying to hold back a train with my bare hands. I grunt with effort as I try to push back. 'Please let this work!' Cracks started to show on the shield and the last remaining magic circle starts to flicker. 'No! Come on don't give up! There's too many people relying on me. Lucy, Natsu, Grey, Mira, Erza….Cana. I can't let them get hurt! I won't!' The cracks are spreading. 'Jupiter can't hold out much longer either. Soon it's gonna have to explode against my shield.' As a last minute ditch effort I put up a mini wall of rock between me and the rest of my family completely blocking their sight of me. However this made me undo my Quicksand spell. 'It feels like I've been at this for hours but it's probably been a minute or two.'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Not a second later and I was proven right. Jupiter exploded and it completely destroyed my shield. It hit me with as much force as a dragon. It felt like I was literally on fire. I could feel it tear my skin, break my bones and deplete me of any remaining magic I had left. The pain was excruciating. Then I felt like I was floating but pretty soon I was sent headlong into the ground so hard that my body made a giant crater. But I wasn't done there, my body kept going causing a giant trench to form in my path as I carved into the ground. In no time I made contact with my rock wall and it collapsed after I went threw it while still remaining in my self made trench./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Slowly and painfully I cracked my eyes open, I hadn't even realized that I closed them. All I could see is blinding light and all I could hear is a loud ringing. I couldn't feel anything. I closed my eyes. Moments passed before the ringing got quieter and feeling slowly returned to my body. Finally, I heard something or rather someone./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Crystal!" It was faint like they were far away./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Crystal!" Another voice, different from the other./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Oh god!", their voice is getting louder and then I feel a slight pressure on my cheek. "Come on! Wake up! Crystal please just open your eyes!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" 'Wait, I know that voice. Both of them. Erza? Cana?' Listening to Cana I slit my eyes open and suddenly all my senses return to me. The pain returned to my body, I no longer heard ringing and there was no longer a bright light. Now all I saw was a blurry face hovering over me and there's a hand on my cheek. It's hard to make out but I could see the brown hair and purple eyes filled with concern and some other emotions that I can't recognize./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Ca...na" I say slowly. God even talking hurts. I hear a sigh of relief come from her./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Thank god." She said./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Soon another face replaced hers and I knew it was my sister. "Why would you do that?!" She asked in a harsh whisper. She currently sat on my right and Cana on my left. All was silent, not one guild member made a sound except for a couple sniffles and sobs. 'Did I really scare them that much?'/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" I chuckled while opening my eyes a little more. Looking into her eyes I spoke in a pained whisper while drawing in gasps of air, however it sounded like I was talking normally with how quiet it was. "You and I…both know...that if you...took that hit, you...wouldn't have gotten...back up." Catching my breath I continued on. "This is war. Fairy Tail needs you. In the end it was either me or you to take that hit. At that time you were more useful than me. You were in better shape than I was to fight." Her left eye teared up a bit. I gave a small chuckle while I tried to lighten the mood. "Besides, aren't I the Guardian? It's my job to save your asses and dig you out of the holes you make for yourselves." I heard faint laughs./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" She gave me a watery smile as she disappeared from my view. I felt hands start to grab me. Two on each leg, one on each shoulder and two on each side of my torso. Slowly I'm lifted up out of the ground and put on top of it instead. Now I see who grabbed me. Gray had lifted up my left leg while Natsu got my right. Erza and Cana lifted up their sides while Mira got my shoulders. All wearing expressions from anger to concern to sadness./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "You've done enough Crystal" Mira said. "You've protected us enough, now it's time for you to rest and for us to protect you."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" The next thing I hear is Jose's voice. "Your master has fallen and now your precious Guardian is out for the count. You have no chance at defeating us now. Hand over Lucy Heartfillia and we may consider letting you flies live!" Oh he really shouldn't have said that./span/p  
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	7. Chapter 7

"Hand over Lucy Heartfilia and I may consider letting you flies live!"

Lucy Heartfilia... She was the girl Natsu took in. I vaguely remembered meeting her, sometime before all of this happened. I patted my friends to get them to set me down, holding onto Erza still for support. Turning my head as much as I could, I watched the proud faces of my guildmates crease with uncertainty. The cannon was charging and everyone looked grim.

"Mira," I croaked, beckoning her closer. "Where's Lucy? She's safe, right?"

Mira looked at me, troubled. "Hopefully."  
I nodded carefully. 'Man, I really overextended myself this time. I can hardly move my head.'

The cannon glowed sickly bright in front of us. 'It's enormous. There's no way we can protect ourselves from that thing...! Our best chance is to stop it somehow.' I bit my lip. 'We shouldn't even bother asking Jose to shut it down. We you try and find the power source, but we had no luck searching the guild-machine-thing before, so I don't think that'll work. We could try and destroy it before it explodes?' I hmmed softly as my thoughts raced, trying to figure out the smartest course of action.

As I mulled over what we could do, something caught my eye. Or rather, someone. Glancing discreetly to the side, I saw Cana staring at me, a worried expression clouding her pretty face. Her eyes, normally so bright, had darkened into a concerned indigo... Or maybe that was the head injury talking. In any case, I risked a grin in Cana's direction. When she realized I'd noticed her, pink dusted her cheeks and she glanced away. I felt my heart skip a beat.

If I'd had the strength I would have pinched myself. My hopeless crush was only growing stronger every day, to the point where I read into each motion Cana made.

Gazing out at the faces of my guildmates - drained, battle-worn, but standing strong - I tried to pull my thoughts into order. 'Focus, Crystal. Focus. We only have a little bit of time left.' I cautiously leaned my weight onto my own legs and away from my support. My knees buckled slightly, but I took a deep breath and steadied. 'You can do this. For Fairy Tail. For Cana.'

The thought did nothing to help the mounting dread I felt, deep in my soul.

-Cana's Point of View-

Crystal had caught me staring, and we both knew it. Even her obviously wounded smile made my heart pound. I watched as she shifted onto her feet, concentrating on pretending like nothing was wrong.

"You idiot..." I whispered fondly. 'You're going to seriously injure yourself protecting us one day.'

The very thought made my stomach drop. My mind filled with images of Crystal, battered and bruised, yet still refusing to move from my side. Refusing to stop protecting me, even if she almost died.

I swallowed thickly and raised my vision to the cannon in front of us. Today had been a long day, and it was only going to get longer. Was there anything we could do, besides brace ourselves?

-Crystal's Point of View-

I hissed as I gently checked my ribs. Broken. In several places, even.

"Natsu!" I said, trying to get his attention. He glanced at me and shuffled closer.

"Yeah? What's up, Crystal?"

"How hard do you think it'd be... to destroy the cannon?" Now, that got his attention. He grinned at me. "I bet I could blow that thing to pieces!"

"Yes, yes, I know you could. Though," I paused, savoring the challenge, "Not as fast as I could, if I had my full power." Natsu laughed and patted me on the back, nearly shoving me over in his excitement. I coughed and glared good-naturedly at him. He winced and muttered sorry- at least, I think he did. Maybe he said "leapfroggy". I nearly smirked at the thought. 'No,' I decided, 'I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he said "I'm sorry".'

Sobering myself, I rubbed my eyes lightly (bad idea, now my they hurt too, along with my hands and just about everywhere else on my body). I really had no idea if "destroy the cannon" could work, but it was my best idea, and we didn't have much time. We'd have to give it a shot.

My mouth twisted as I saw Natsu give his trademark grin, lighting up the faces of the people around us. I beckoned to my sister, and she leaned towards me.

"I think you probably heard me, but we're going to need to do something about this weapon." I said, quietly. Erza nodded grimly and waited for me to continue. "I trust you, and I love you, and I'm sure that if we all worked together, we could stop Shadow Lord's plans before…" I trailed off, but the conclusion to my thought was obvious. _Before we all lose our lives to it._

Erza sighed. "I know. I'll see what I can do. You, on the other hand," she added, giving me the 'I'm-your-sister-so-listen-to-me face', "Need to rest. I'm serious, Crystal."

She did look serious. I nodded and attempted a smile.

'I just hope I get time to rest, once this is all over with. Either way, I'll be sleeping soundly tonight.'

 **Sorry this chapter isn't as long as usual, but I'm the stand-in author (nice to meet you)! Hopefully I did this story justice, and I know your regularly scheduled author will be back soon.**

 **Till next time, then!**


	8. I'm So Sorry Please Read, Important

**Hey guys it's me BlockTheHatersSmile. I know that the previous chapters author had informed you that I'd be back to adding new content soon. I also know that I promised to be back soon after the last update but that was weeks ago. Truth be told I haven't had time to give/create new content and I don't think I will have time in the near future. I'm so so sorry that I broke my promise and I hope you guys can understand. Recently my family and I have been going through a lot and have suffered a tragic loss of a family member. The story will be put ON HOLD until further notice. In fact if there is anyone wanting to adopt this story I'd be more than willing. I've had and do have high hopes for it and it saddens me that it hasn't been allowed to grow. This also means that no new stories will be posted as I had planned but again I hope you understand. Although my work isn't popular and although most of the views are probably by people that could careless about the story and myself, I would genuinely like to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my work and thank you to the awesome people who have Followed me as well as Favorited the story. It makes my day to see that there are people out there that enjoy my writing. Thank you so much and I hope you can forgive me, if anyone adopts this I will notify you through an update so that you can continue to read it.**

 **-With all my love, BlockTheHatersSmile**


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